Exquisite Woe
by OpenPurse
Summary: Carrying the burden of a tormented past, Lucia Adrien travels to the grand city of New Eden.
1. Chapter 1

She tiptoed quietly along in her work shoes up the entry way. Peering side to side, she made sure she was alone. Surely she looked insane, sneaking into her own house. Hopefully there weren't any neighbors around. They would want to talk, they would ask questions. She was in no mood for chatter.

She reached the front door and placed and ear to it, holding her breath. Voices. As quietly as possible she gripped the door knob, unaware of what to expect; but all too aware of what she dreaded. For a moment she hesitated, thinking that some things were better left unknown. If she walked away now, there wouldn't be any pain; sometimes the truth isn't worth it. That's what she told herself. But in that moment, with her ear grazing the front door, a noise echoed through her house, a familiar noise that sufficiently pissed her off.

She burst through the door. There was a sharp gasp. They came apart.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She exclaimed, exasperation laced into her words.

She got no reply. They just shuffled. The strange girl in her bed, she let out a yelp, a small one, and covered her tits. The man, the one that she loved, he crawled off of the strange girl like a coward. He was so small for such a large man, she thought.

It was a joke, a cruel fucking joke.

"Get out of my house". She spoke without direction, at this point it didn't matter. But the only one to leave was the strange girl, who struggled to gather her shit off the floor and run out the front door shamelessly.

"Lucia, I can explain" the man she loved pleaded, pathetic.

She scoffed with crossed arms, looking straight ahead and trying not to cry. "What-", her voice quivered, she internally scolded herself, "Could you possibly say this time?"

"That I'm a bad person babe. And I make mistakes, but don't we all?"

"Fraus, what do you think I am?" she looked at him in disbelief. "Do you think I'm a goddamned fool?"

"No, of course not" He threw on a robe and approached her.

"Then why do you do this to me?" she pleaded, feeling cold and empty.

"I'm so sorry, so, so sorry" He stood in front of her. He was a much taller than her, and far more intimidating. She flinched when he touched her lightly, as if it burned. "I love you" he spoke, looking deep into her once bright green eyes. She didn't say anything, just tugged at her lavender hair nervously.

The man standing before her, the man that she loved, she didn't love him anymore. It was clear now; it took the sharp pain of betrayal stabbing her in the chest for everything to make sense. And no matter how easy it had been in years past, she couldn't let it go this time.

He wrapped her in his arms like he always had, begging for forgiveness. But she didn't feel warmth or safety like before. She felt desolate and alone and hurt. It was suffocating.

"Fraus, you have to leave" she muttered, trying to break free of his grasp, "I'm done with you".

"Babe, you're kidding. You don't mean that" he chuckled and swept a bit of hair behind her ear.

"I'm serious" she said rigidly, "You disgust me".

The fake smile on his face disappeared only to be replaced by rage, "Just like that? Did I even mean anything to you?"

"Once" she stated simply, looking down.

"This is so fucking typical of you, Lucia. You're an immature bitch, you know that?" He glared at her, eyes ablaze.

She knew that fighting wouldn't accomplish anything, it never did. Nonetheless, he was wrong. She always gave him a second chance. They had been together for five years, and it wasn't something she was going to give up without thought. Of course not, she was there for him at every turn, even today, when she got a promotion and wanted nothing more than to tell him over her break. But when there was a strange vehicle parked outside, curiosity took charge because the last time it happened she found a strange woman in bed with him. The only difference was, then, she forgave him.

"Are you even listening to me?" he yelled, grabbing her wrists.

"Not anymore" she stared straight ahead, unsurprised when she felt a hand slap into the side of her face.

"You're a fucking joke" He seethed, pushing her into a wall.

"Better than you" she said, staring straight into his deep brown eyes.

He charged her and pushed her frail body to the floor. She stared up at him and almost felt a tear well up, but blinked it back. "You're the idiot Lucia. I never loved you; you were just stupid enough to let me use you" he stopped and wiped a hand across his mouth, "It was fun in the beginning, but now you're a wreck. I'm actually happy this happened, the sex has been awful lately".

"Leave" she stood up and straightened her clothing, "Be gone by the time I get home".

"Or what, Lucia? You're pathetic" he laughed maniacally, "You'll probably forgive me by tomorrow you dumb bitch".

"I doubt it". And just like that, she left her house. After all, duty called.

* * *

"Miss Adrien, I have your first assignment as Senior Communications Correspondent. I must say, I'm very proud of you. You're the youngest member of PSICOM to ever attain a position of this magnitude".

"Thank you Sir, I'm honored" Lucia spun to face her boss, make that former boss, and offered a weak smile. He handed her a virtual data log which she took graciously and slid into a pocket.

"You're my most trustworthy agent Miss Adrien, as soon as I saw the position open I recommended you" he smiled kindly.

"I won't let you down Sir".

"I know you won't" he nodded at her and began to walk away, but just before he turned around, he stopped. "Lucia" he said in a hushed voice, "Between you and me, is everything okay at home?"

"Um… yes sir" she hesitated.

"I don't mean to meddle, but you have bruises. They weren't there before you left". He gave her a concerned look and glanced at the aforementioned blemishes.

"I-I was having some problems" she wrapped her arms around her torso, "But I've solved them. It took a lot, but everything is fine Sir. And I swear it won't interfere with my work".

"I wasn't worried about that, I just… If you ever need some help, don't be afraid to ask".

"Of course Sir, thank you Sir" Lucia nodded childishly.

He briefly gave her the same worried look. "Now get back to work, kid" he joked and saluted, doing a bang up job of breaking the tension.

Lucia turned back around and let out a deep sigh, it was time to pack up. She was leaving this town for good and moving up to New Eden. It was a huge step for her, and all but two hours ago she had hoped to take it with Fraus. But it was better this way, she was convinced of it. A whole new life on the recently finished New Eden was going to be spectacular; she had heard it was incredibly beautiful.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry! The original upload had loads of mistakes, I think they're all fixed now

* * *

Stepping out of the military airship, an ocean breeze swept across the landing zone, Lucia had landed in Palumpolum. She brought nothing with her but a PSICOM elite uniform and a few thousand Gil. After all, she wanted a new start, and was determined to do it the right way.

"Soldier" Lucia called to a nearby guard, "Direct me to the intake center".

"Yes Ma'am" he responded obediently. And with a weapon held to his chest, he led her along a pathway to a nearby tower entirely made of glass. Once they were inside, she dismissed him with a salute and sauntered ahead. Her boots clicked against the marble floors and echoed off the walls as she ventured further into the building. She marveled at the expansive windows and modern fixtures before spotting a door, a rather large one, at the opposite end of the palatial room.

Once she reached it, a hologram animated, blocking her way. "Identification", it requested in an electronic voice. When Lucia didn't respond immediately the hologram spoke again, "Identification", this time, far more demanding.

"Lucia Adrien, Senior Communications Correspondent" she stated matter o' factly, with her arms crossed, being way too impatient for this type of technology.

"Processing… Processing… Processing-"

"Are you kidding me?" Lucia threw her hands in the air, "You're pretty slow for being such a voracious twat".

"Having a hard time there?" A voice spoke behind her.

She swiftly turned around to see a tall young man with silver hair (that seemed to wisp in the wind despite there being none). "I am so sorry; you didn't hear me, did you?"

He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Uh, no, didn't hear a thing".

She looked at him questioningly, because he obviously did hear. But lost her train of thought as she noticed the prestigious medals pinned to his uniform. She gasped, and nearly choked because it was Hope Esthiem, savior of freaking Cocoon. "Admiral", cough, "I apologize", cough, "please forgive my language", cough.

He hesitated for a moment and then grinned slightly, "Forgiven. Are you okay, Lieutenant?"

"Who-"she asked with a raised eyebrow, then remembered her promotion, "Oh yes, sorry, I- um, I've been a little sick this past, uh, hour".

"Really?" he crossed his arms and tried not to laugh. His eyes glinted with humor and kindness.

Realizing the stupidity of her excuse, Lucia tried to recover, "It must have been the airship, those things-", she laughed uncomfortably and did an awkward rendition of jazz hands, "Am I right?"

"The airship you're referring to is the newest in the fleet. I highly doubt that it could make a passenger ill".

"Oh."

"Anyways" he pulled out a virtual data log and read it out loud, "Lucia Adrien, Senior Communications Correspondent, correct?"

"Yes Sir" she straightened up and held a hand to her chest in salute.

"I will be your new director" He looked up from the data log to see Lucia saluting him, "You don't have to do that, you know. You're off duty. Actually, the entire battalion is until next week".

Her jaw dropped a bit, along with her salute, and she quickly placed her arms behind her back. That is, until the hologram had finally loaded, causing her to jump in surprise, "Lieutenant Adrien, you have been granted access into PSICOM intake hall, do you need any further assistance?"

"Negative" Hope spoke behind her, causing the hologram to disappear.

"I actually needed to know where to go" she said worriedly.

"Let me show you" he grinned and walked ahead of her as the massive doors opened before them.

The sight of the intake hall was like nothing she had ever seen before. Hundreds, probably even thousands of PSICOM officers and soldier bustled around inside the expansive hall. She followed Hope as he led her through the crowds and didn't even notice the people shuffling to clear a way for them. Instead she gazed at the elaborate mural covering the ceiling and watched as a ship took off through a window. It was marvelous, it excited her, she felt like she was part of something so much greater than anything she had ever experienced.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Hope commented after noticing that Lucia had stopped walking. She just stood still and stared at the intricate mural above her. He smiled at her innocence; there was little of it in PSICOM.

"Breathtaking" she replied and turned to him with a winsome grin.

"It took ten years and hundreds of artists to complete", he began, "During the Fall, this building had been destroyed, but now it's more beautiful than ever".

"It sure is". She frowned for a second, "Actually, I have no idea what it looked like before."

He chuckled before saying, "Come on, I'm pretty sure I was showing you around".

"Yes Sir!" Lucia exclaimed, this time far more excited.

* * *

Lucia lounged on the bed in her hotel room flipping the channels on the television; there was no news, no sports, and only reruns of her favorite sitcom. She sighed deeply, throwing the remote control down by her feet. Normally she'd be cooking dinner for Fraus, or taking him to a bar so he could get drunk while she stood by, sipping water. What a dick, she thought.

Rolling out of bed, she thumped on the floor with a groan. Looking up through the window she saw New Eden, a symbol of Cocoon's might after the Fall. That was where her life would be in only a week. She wondered what sort of blind luck got her there, she was nothing special, never had been never will be. That's what her parents told her, that's what Fraus told her. That's what she told herself.

Her communication device buzzed on the bedside table just as she started thinking about Fraus again. So lethargically she pulled herself up from the ground with a whimper and stalked over to answer it. "Mhmmhh" she mumbled into the device.

"Um, Lieutenant Adrien, are you there?" an increasingly familiar voice spoke on the other end.

"Yes Admiral" she stated, knowing that Hope was the only one who called her Lieutenant. She was nothing of the sort, perhaps it was a formal attempt at flattery.

"Great" he paused for a moment, "Some officers and I were going to have a small get together. I told them you'd like to come". When she hesitated for a moment out of shock, he continued, breaking the silence: "I thought it'd be a good way for you to meet your colleagues- being new, and all".

"Definitely" she replied, squealing on the inside, "You don't have to explain your motives Admiral, thank you very much for this opportunity".

"Yeah, of course" he muttered, taken aback, "Be there at eight, you'll learn a lot, formal attire. I'll send you the information. Bye".

After hanging up Lucia collapsed on her bed. "Formal attire" she muttered to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**More filler, not really but kinda. I know, chapter two was a snore. It's gonna start picking up soon I promise. I dunno if I'm gonna go the love triangle route or the ConStanT StruGglE (makin' this stuff up as I go along). Leave a review? Oh and I've already started the next chapter, it'll be longer whoo!**

* * *

A knock came at the door about ten minutes after the call from Hope. Lucia looked towards the door as she straightened her uniform, getting ready to go shopping. After all, Palumpolum _was_ the consumer capital of Cocoon. Another knock came as she approached the door. Opening it, a young girl, about eighteen, stood in front of her wearing a skimpy outfit and holding a package with a note tied to it.

"Miss Adrien?" she asked nervously.

"That's me" Lucia smiled warmly.

The girl handed her the package, giving a small bow and scurrying away. Lucia watched her hurry down the hallway and around the corner before stepping back into her room. She looked down at the box that was carefully wrapped in metallic paper and pulled the note off the top.

North Rivera Tower. Seventy Seventh Floor. Eight P.M.

She lifted an eyebrow and picked up the package, "Now what the hell is in here".

Pulling apart the paper, she dropped it on the floor to reveal a gift box. Biting her lip and slowly pulling off the lid, Lucia held her breath. After getting it off, she gasped. Giddily, she pulled out a long black silk gown and held it up to herself.

"It's gorgeous" she breathed and pranced around the room, twirling. Running into the bathroom she stripped off her uniform and slipped it on. It was floor length with a high neckline and open back. "It's so fucking pretty".

* * *

"Miss Adrien, your party is awaiting you" the waiter led her outside a private room inside the restaurant and wandered off. She put a clammy hand on the door knob and noticed it was lightly quivering. "This is it" she took a deep breath before opening the door into a small room containing about six people. Way more intimate than she expected.

"Lieutenant!" Hope called from the other side of the room, obviously a little tipsy. "Cm'over here!" he waved an arm.

"Hello Admiral" Lucia uttered, looking down at the table covered in drinks and appetizers.

He looked her up and down before motioning to the people around the table and introducing them. They were all admirals. Lucia wondered why he invited her, being a "Lieutenant" and all. Initially it concerned, and even bothered her. But before anyone could say a word, she was sitting at the table chatting like one of them. And by the third round of drinks, everyone became far friendlier. They laughed and shouted, holding onto each other for support when a senior admiral decided to start dancing on his chair.

Lucia turned around when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. "Hey Hope" she slurred and drunkenly grinned at him. He stood above her with glassy eyes and a toothy grin.

"I wanna show you something" he reached out a hand which she took immediately.

"OOH where are you guys going" one of the women that Lucia had been talking to said mischievously, winking at Hope.

"Nowhere Ma'am" Hope mocked before sarcastically saluting her. She laughed and waved off the two.

"Where _ARE_ we going, Admiral?" Lucia asked, adjusting his tie as they walked out of the room.

"Call me Hope" he said abruptly, looking her in the eye. "And don't make me ruin the surprise!"

"Okay Hope" she drawled, popping the 'p'. They walked into the elevator arm in arm and he pressed the button for the top floor. In only a few seconds they were there, walking out into a glass hallway. The floor was glass, the walls were glass, and the ceiling was glass. And beyond it, the view spanned to the horizon of the ocean and above, New Eden seemed that much closer.

Hope pulled Lucia down the hallway to a door that lead to a massive deck. Once they were outside, she gasped and let go of him, running to the edge and leaning on the railing. With her eyes closed, the wind blew her hair out of the bun it had been restricted in all night and her dress flew wildly. Breathing in the scent of the ocean, she got chills and laughed. "It's surreal".

"I thought you would like it, the way you looked at the art earlier" he walked up and stood next to her on the edge. "I'm glad you came, Lucia".

She turned and cocked her head, looking up at him with a smirk, "I didn't really have a choice" she said, holding up the skirt of her gown.

"Yeah" Hope muttered, breaking eye contact, "Sorry".

"Hope!" Lucia exclaimed and punched him lightly in the bicep, "I was kidding! I'm having a great time".

"Oh" he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "That's really good".

"And the dress-"she began, straining her voice a bit, "It's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me".

Hope frowned at her words, "That can't be true… not for someone like you".

"I wish" she laughed bitterly and wiped a single tear as it streaked down her cheek. All of a sudden it felt cold, not breezy or refreshing, just cold. It was the same cold that overcame her when Fraus held her for the last time. But what made it worse was that every time she was reminded of her past, it made her weaker. Instead of cuts, there were scars and burns. That's what it felt like. And she thought it'd never go away.

Just as more tears began to flood her eyes, Hope embraced Lucia in a hug. "Breathe" he cooed repeatedly, as she shook in his arms and squeezed his waist. He didn't know why he did it, hugging her was inappropriate. They were practically coworkers, but she hurt and he knew how it felt. The stinging empty feeling that takes your breath away like a punch to the stomach. He understood.

"I'm so sorry" she gasped, clutching onto his jacket, "I… I- this never happens. I'm s-so sorry". A minute later, Lucia breathed in deeply and squeezed her eyes shut, pushing it all down. "I'll explain" she choked out, loosening her grip on Hope's coat. "You probably think I'm insane, but I swear I'm not".

His eyes were calm and sparkled against the lights in the sky. "I don't, of course I don't" he held her at arm's length, smiling sympathetically. "And you don't have to explain a thing. Maybe one day. But you need time to heal".

"You're right", she nodded. After hesitating for a moment she chuckled and added, "But now you have to tell me _your_ story oh Savior of Cocoon".

He quirked an eyebrow, "Are you kidding again?"

"Only if you want me to be" she poked him in the chest a few times and giggled. He just looked at her questioningly, "Ugh, c'mon kid, your buddies are probably wondering where we've gone" she grunted and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him back inside.

"I think I prefer Admiral" he whined sarcastically, wriggling free of Lucia's grasp and grabbing her by the hand instead.

"Don't get too cocky kid".

Hope shook his head, chuckled, and pressed the elevator button. As they walked in, Lucia took a shallow breath, "Before we go back, I just want to say, thanks Hope".

He smiled and looked down at their intertwined hands, swinging to a nonexistent beat, "Yeah... no problem".


	4. Chapter 4

Light stung Lucia's eyes as it pierced through the windows of her hotel room. Rolling over, she pulled the covers over her head. "It's too early" she groaned, scolding the morning. A few seconds later the phone on the nightstand began ringing. "You have to be kidding me". She reached an arm out and picked up the phone and slammed it back down, silencing it. Nuzzling into one of the many pillows scattered on the bed, she closed her eyes.

It had been a long night. After her soirée with Hope, she returned to the dinner only to consume a few more rounds of whatever alcohol was being ordered. Then they wandered back to the hotel along with someone else, but at the moment she couldn't remember. But he or she was nice; and Lucia had promised to go to lunch with them today. Beyond that, it was really just a blur of maniacal laughs and awkward dancing, along with a few pissed off hotel employees.

The phone rang again, but this time she just unplugged it. After all it was probably just a call from the front desk, or something. And at the moment the only thing she cared about was sleeping for a little while longer before the day started.

DING. DING. TEN O'CLOCK. DING. DING. TEN O'CLOCK.

"An alarm too?" she exclaimed, throwing her covers off in frustration and violently pressing the buttons on the alarm clock until it stopped ringing. "Wait" she thought, "Ten o'clock? Holy shit, it's late".

Scrambling out of bed, she ran into the bathroom and threw her hair into a quick bun and buttoned up her uniform. Shoving her COM device and room key in her pocket, she remembered that there was nothing to do. Of course there was lunch, but would that person even remember? They were pretty wasted as well. Sighing, she decided to go out anyways. After all, there was an entire city outside just waiting to be explored.

Stepping out of the hotel, the first thing to hit her was the noise. All sorts of vehicles hummed past up above, and down on the street, tourists and shop owners chatted and bustled about. It was so different from where Lucia came from, a place that was practically invisible in the grand scheme of Cocoon. Speaking of which, she felt invisible. As the hordes of people passed by, she wasn't acknowledged once. It wasn't like before when she'd known everyone in town and they'd always want to talk. That's all they did, was talk. There was no beauty in their lives, in her life; there was only gossip and secrets. She wondered if they knew about Fraus, about what he did to her, what he did without her. They probably did, but it didn't matter anymore, they were gone, he was gone. But most importantly, she was gone.

'Yeah, she began strolling down the street, I'm gone'.

* * *

"Those are fabulous" Lucia pointed to a pair of shoes on the shelf.

The sales lady frowned as she was in the middle of showing her a different pair. "Oh, yes" she sighed, "I don't sell many of those, but I suppose it you like them, feel free to try them on".

"Thanks" she pulled off her knee high combat boots and slid her rather delicate foot into the heeled shoe. It was a black platform stiletto that made her legs look miles long. So obviously, only a few seconds after getting one on she burst, "I'll take 'em".

The sales lady looked at her oddly, the shoes were very 'out of fashion'. But she simply shrugged her shoulders and mumbled "The customer's always right".

Leaving the store, Lucia was beyond ecstatic; she finally had shoes to wear with the dress Hope got her. It was lucky that no one noticed her combat boots the previous night. In fact, when she got back to the hotel she did a happy dance. Although that was probably due to the alcohol.

"Miss Adrien!" someone called her name, "Hey, Lieutenant!"

"Admiral!" she called back, spotting Hope pushing his way through a group of tourists carrying giant stuffed chocobos. Once he finally got pass them, he approached her with a huge smile plastered on his face. "You've recovered well from last night" Lucia chuckled and got up on her tip toes to fix a bit of hair that had fallen over his eyes.

"Thanks" he laughed, "Yeah, I tried calling you this morning to see how you were doing, but couldn't get through. Also, your second lieutenant wanted to meet you, but it's fine; there'll be plenty of time for that next week when we get to New Eden".

"Oh no" Lucia gasped, covering her mouth, "That was you? I'm so sorry, I thought it was the front desk or- I don't know but, argh, I feel so bad. Is he mad at me?"

"I think she'll get over it. Like I said, you have the rest of the week and however long to meet her" he said, putting emphasis on the 'she'.

"Oh- she, haha, well-" she giggled uncomfortably, "I still feel bad".

"Hopefully your lunch this afternoon with Admiral Storm will help you feel better" he stated dully.

"Actually" Lucia frowned, "I don't know about that. Do you think the Admiral even remembers our plans?"

"It seemed like it, the way he was talking about you this morning" He tried his hardest not to sneer at this. Admiral Storm was a womanizer to say the least. And Hope knew exactly what his intentions were with Lucia. It bothered him to a large degree because he didn't want Lucia getting hurt, she was so delicate.

But more importantly, he didn't need Storm messing around with his Lieutenant.

"He?" she asked, scrunching her nose, "So is it like… a date?"

Hope grinned at her distaste, "I'd say so".

"Well", she hesitated for a moment and shrugged, "A friend is, a friend. I guess I'll just wait for the call".

"It'll be coming" Hope scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"What does that mean?" she asked, picking up on Hopes attitude towards the guy.

"Nothing" he recovered quickly, "Gotta go Lieutenant, see you around".

Before Lucia could grab him or question him any further, he hurried off into the crowd and disappeared in seconds. "Well, damn".

* * *

Heading back to the hotel, she bought a dress and a new pair of boots for her lunch 'date'. Considering that she only had work clothes and a gown, it seemed appropriate.

Once back in the room, she dropped the pumps from earlier in the closet and changed into her new outfit. The dress was tight and reached a few inches inches past her ass. It was covered in an intricate pattern and had straps down the front of it. Her boots pulled up past her knees and laced up in the back. And unlike her combat boots, they had a six inch heel and were extremely tight, made of a material she didn't even know how to explain. Perhaps that's why she bought them.

Looking in the mirror, Lucia felt uncomfortable. She liked the look, a lot; and the store clerk told her it was the latest fashion. But she had never worn anything like it. Fraus wouldn't let her; he always said that he didn't want other guys looking at her. She always thought it was cute. Now she knew he was really just full of shit.

In the pocket of her uniform, which sat in a pile on the floor, a buzz came from her COM Device. Instantly, she jumped over and dug through the pockets before answering it.

"Lucia Adrien, who is this" she asked as if it wasn't blatantly obvious.

"Hello Miss Adrien, its Admiral Storm" a husky voice spoke at the other end.

"Of course" she sat on the bed, "I believe we have plans".

"And I almost thought you forgot" he chuckled.

"So, where are we meeting?" she questioned in a girly voice that made her cringe a bit. It reminded her of how she used to talk around Fraus when they first met. She was eighteen and dumb, he was twenty-something and hot, what more could be said.

"I'll meet you in the lobby in five" he said coolly.

"See you then".

* * *

The doors slid open on the elevator and Lucia stuck her head out, looking around. She couldn't remember for the life of her what this 'Admiral Storm' looked like. After all, she thought it was a woman before Hope told her otherwise. Stepping out, she gazed across the lobby which was relatively busy and saw no one familiar. It was like a blind date but worse.

"Lucia" the same husky voice from the phone spoke behind her, "You beat me".

She turned around to see the Admiral coming out of the elevator in a simple modern suit. He looked sharp. A strong jawline and perfectly slicked back hair completed the facade. He was a generic sort of perfection. Yeah, he was older, about thirty, but what did it matter, with a face like that.

"So I did" she affirmed, "I almost thought you stood me up".

"Now why would I do that to such a pretty girl" he gave her a mischievous grin and hooked his arm in hers.

"You flatter me Admiral" Lucia batted her lashes subtly, looking into his steely grey eyes.

He chuckled lightly, guiding her through the lobby, "My soldiers call me Admiral".

"Well, I'm no soldier" she mused playfully, "So what shall I call you?"

"Storm", he said lightheartedly, "Just Storm".

They continued an upbeat chat as they strolled down the streets of Palumpolum, heading to the restaurant Storm had made reservations at. He spared nothing in trying to impress Lucia. And although it wasn't very hard for a man as important as him, he had a special interest in her. Of course he knew she wasn't marriage material, but she'd be fun to toy around with for a while. She was cute; and the previous night, when she walked into dinner, he knew he had to have her. The way she was delicate but strong, the flame flickering in her eyes, it sent shocks down his spine. Nonetheless, she was just a girl, and would never be anything more to him.

"Here we are" Storm spoke. They abruptly stopped in front of a towering building, even taller than the Rivera Towers, and he opened the door for Lucia. The inside had a far colder appearance than the other places Lucia had visited. It was mostly white, with the exception of a few silver accents. Off to the left there was a cluster of couches that screamed 'don't sit'. And to the right, a giant sculpture rested on a pedestal. It looked like a dick with thorns in it. Lucia thought it was amusing, but the crown jewel of the place was the glass elevator in the middle of the room that was in the shape of a fist. She watched as someone got on, and it shot straight up through a sphincter-looking hole in the ceiling.

"Wow" Lucia deadpanned, crossing her legs and remembering the time that Fraus… never mind.

"Yeah" he sighed, "It's my favorite tower in the city. The artistry is incredible".

"Mhmhmmh" Lucia nodded in agreement, on the verge of laughing. Personally, she thought it was fucking horrendous. But it's not like she was going to bash him for his shitty taste in design.

"Well" he took a deep breath, "We can't stand around forever".

Together they boarded the elevator and took it all the way to the top floor. Apparently PSICOM guys have a thing for high places, Lucia laughed to herself. As the door opened on their floor, she couldn't help but frown. Instead of there being a view of the city, the walls were completely white along with the furniture. And frankly, she was getting sick of all the artsy shit.

"Two" Fraus spoke to the hologram maître d that appeared before them.

"Reservations?"

"Storm" he smiled at Lucia and put an arm on her back as the hologram processed.

"Follow me" it spoke after a minute.

After being seated at a tiny table, Lucia shifted uncomfortably in her stool, which (coincidentally) was in the shape of a fist. "I'm sensing a running theme here" she joked hesitantly.

Storm looked at her sternly as she wriggled about in the chair, "It's a symbol of strength, this building was destroyed in the Fall".

Internally, she rolled her eyes, weren't they all?

"Oh" she nodded, "Well, it's a very interesting interpretation".

"I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think that's what gives it charm" he softened his gaze, "Sure, it's a little bit pretentious, but the thought that went into it and the message behind it all, it's close to- I think- all of our hearts".

"Well, when you put it that way" she trailed off, suddenly regretting ever saying a word. "Anyways", she abruptly changed the topic, "What's your favorite dish here?"

"I've never eaten here actually". She looked at him questioningly, so he explained, "It's nearly impossible to get a table, takes a year for most people. But, the owner owed me a favor, so I called it in".

Lucia looked at him in disbelief and glanced around at the few tables around them, they were all full. First she wondered why the hell the place was so popular (yeah, the message, blah blah), and then she blurted, "You wasted this on me?"

"I definitely wouldn't call it 'waste'", he reassured and observed her from across the table. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes had dulled. The way they changed so drastically in a split second confused him, it was something he had never seen before.

"You must have an entire list of people, far more important, that would kill to come here with you" she tried, in an attempt to end the flow of flattery.

"Yeah" he shrugged, "But I'm not trying to impress them".

Lucia looked at him for a second and gave him a big, fake smile, "Thanks".

Luckily, the rest of the lunch date went on flawlessly. He told her war stories and she talked about fashion. Not that she knew anything about it; she just reiterated everything the store clerk told her earlier. The food was another story though. After leaving the restaurant, they went and got sandwiches and ice cream. They both agreed it was way better.

"So I will be seeing you again, Miss Adrien?" he asked as they walked down the hall to her hotel room.

"Only if you want, Admiral Storm" she leaned forward and pecked his cheek once they reached the door.

He grinned and lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, "Of course".


End file.
